Life's Little Mysteries
by TheSarcasticWench
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Gwaine was not as unobservant as he seemed. Why anyone would think otherwise was a complete mystery to him. Gwaine-centric one-shot, S3 spoilers.


**A/N: **Hi there! First time publishing a Merlin fic wooo, yay for new fandoms. I've been watching a lot of Merlin lately (season 3 was really awesome) and fell in love with the character Gwaine, especially the friendship that him and Merlin share, so I had to write a Gwaine fic.

The idea of this fic comes from a conversation with xoxphoenix; we both agreed that there is NO way that Gwaine doesn't know about Merlin's magic, it's really obvious haha. I also owe her thanks for beta-ing for me too =]

The first half of the fic is a lot of text, but bear with it, it does have a purpose.

**Disclaimer:** Merlin is the property of the BBC, not me (sadly enough). **Spoilers for season 3 also (for the episodes that contain Gwaine).**

* * *

><p><strong>Life's Little Mysteries<strong>

* * *

><p>Contrary to popular belief, Gwaine was not as unobservant as he seemed. Sure, he spent a large amount of his time consuming ale in the nearest tavern - and skimping out on the bill (more often than not) - but that didn't make him a complete idiot. Why anyone would think otherwise was a complete mystery to him.<p>

He hadn't known Merlin for all that long, but it was fair of him to say that the young servant had quickly become his closest friend; one that he could count on to have his back (a rarity for Gwaine). But he quickly realised that while Merlin looked on Gwaine in a similar light, he also seemed to think exactly that; that he was unobservant. This amused, rather than offended, Gwaine, because only an idiot princess like Arthur wouldn't have noticed what was right in front of him.

The first time Gwaine noticed something amiss, was during the tavern fight with the thug Dagr. Those plates were 'thrown' with an alarming accuracy, not to mention that Gwaine thought it a little too convenient. However, being the considerate soul that he is, Gwaine let it slide as one of life's little mysteries – he'd decided quickly enough that he didn't want the sod that used magic to aid the fight to get in deadly trouble.

The second time he noticed something odd was when he and Merlin encountered the bridge keeper (whose name they later learnt was Grettir). Merlin had walked right up to the bridge, despite Gwaine signalling him to stay put, and the bridge keeper had hailed him as Magic. Gwaine hadn't been as far away as they'd thought, and had thought this odd, until he'd been hailed as Strength (and Arthur had apparently been addressed as Courage). Gwaine figured that it must be one of the perks of the bridge keeper, despite the growing feeling that perhaps Merlin was more than just a servant to the princess.

Later, when he and Merlin had separated in the Fisher King's castle, Gwaine had stumbled upon Merlin and the unconscious Arthur earlier then he'd let on, witnessing Merlin speaking an ancient seeming language and commanding the wyverns. Gwaine was a little stunned, watching how easily the wyverns surrendered to Merlin, but mostly he was awed and impressed by his friend and he began to wonder…what other tricks could Merlin do? However, Gwaine figured it'd be best not to ask with Arthur present, and he farewelled his closest friend with hundreds of questions burning in his mind – the most pressing being could Merlin turn people (more specifically debt collectors) into toads?

His next encounter with Merlin was a little more unexpected. After the initial surprise of seeing Merlin and Arthur in Jarl's dungeon, Gwaine couldn't help but mock Arthur for being unobservant of his surroundings (funny, how that word kept popping up), and getting him and Merlin caught by slavers. Luckily Arthur didn't question why Gwaine was there in the first place – the details were a bit hazy anyway (a result of being 'blind drunk', as some would term it).

The fire that broke up the fight between Arthur and Gwaine was definitely too coincidental to have been an accident. Gwaine mentally crossed off some of his questions for Merlin – can you do other magic (aside from commanding dragon-like creatures) being the first. There was no doubt in Gwaine's mind that it had been Merlin, but (once again), he couldn't ask because of Arthur – although Gwaine had felt slightly guilty when Merlin pointed out the neither he nor Arthur would have survived the fight had it not been for the 'fire' (Merlin's magical intervention). It raised another few important (and serious) questions though, such as how many people (and how many times) has Merlin saved with magic, and why (Arthur immediately came to mind).

After gaining, and then losing the Cup of Life, Arthur was shot with a poison arrow. Beneath his worry for the royal ass, Gwaine silently grumbled about another missed opportunity to question Merlin – it just didn't feel right while Merlin was worrying so fiercely over Arthur. When Merlin lamely hinted that Gwaine go fetch some more firewood, Gwaine wished he could tell Merlin that it was alright, whatever magic he was going to attempt to save the princess was fine with him. Instead, Gwaine made a lame joke before walking out to the forest, never straying far from the camp in case Merlin need help, while quietly observing his attempts at magic. When he got back, Arthur's condition hadn't improved, and Merlin seemed even more despondent then before, Gwaine crossed another question off his list – can you heal anything with magic?

During the flurry of events that followed, Gwaine really didn't have much time to look for more signs and clues to the magic that Merlin clearly possessed – now that he'd noticed it, Gwaine couldn't help but wonder how Merlin had kept it hidden for so long (especially from Arthur). However, thanks to his newly bestowed knighthood – perhaps Arthur wasn't the greatest ass he'd met after all – Gwaine suddenly found himself in Camelot, serving under the Prince Regent himself.

The month immediately following the betrayal of the Lady Morgana was hectic and harsh, especially on those who'd known her personally. Uther had suffered some form of breakdown from the stress of seeing is ward – who was actually his daughter, go figure – usurp his throne and kill his people, forcing Arthur to prematurely take charge of Camelot. However, the prince remained confident that his father would recover, accepting no more than the title of Prince Regent, rather than allowing the Council to crown him as king. Gwaine found his respect for Arthur growing – enough to stop him from referring to Arthur as a princess in front of any court members at least. Even more so when Arthur insisted that the four 'common-born' knights – neither Gwaine nor Merlin could hold back a snicker at that – remain knights of Camelot, despite it being against the code, and welcomed them into his 'inner circle' with open arms. It didn't take long for Gwaine, Lancelot, Elyan and Percival to settle into their roles as Knights of Camelot.

It wasn't long before Camelot began to return to normal; the city repaired and order restored to the people. Some were still bitter over the murder of innocent citizens, but couldn't hold a grudge against Arthur – how could they, when Arthur spent his free time toiling with his subjects to repair Camelot? It was only after the city was mostly restored that some of the more easy going knights suggested a small celebration, to welcome the newest knights to the ranks. Gwaine had immediately perked up at the suggestion, managing to draw Merlin, and (surprisingly) Sir Leon on board as well – the former because he couldn't resist agreeing with Gwaine when he got _really_ excited about something, the latter because he felt it would boost morale and encourage the noble knights to accept the 'common' ones (again, a little snicker at that). Not long after, a feast was announced, to be held in honour of Camelot's brave knights, who fought alongside Arthur and resisted the evil that tried to corrupt the kingdom.

And that was how Gwaine found himself sitting in the middle of a boisterously loud hall, well fed, drink in hand, and roaring with laughter at a story told by one knight to the rest – funny, how easily names are forgotten when one is drunk.

"Maybe you should slow down on the ale, my friend!" Merlin chuckled, eying Gwaine's collection of empty mugs with a shake of his head.

"Come on now Merlin, where's the fun in that?" Gwaine demanded with a grin, slamming the umpteenth mug down to join the others. "We're celebrating here!" A roar of approval went up at Gwaine's words, causing the pair to laugh loudly.

"Perhaps Merlin is right, _Sir _Gwaine." Elyan snickered, handing a tankard to Percival, who accepted it with a nod of thanks. Elyan looked slightly disappointed – Gwaine, Elyan and some of the others had taken to trying to make Percival speak more than one word (so far Merlin held the record with six words).

"Maybe you should too, Arthur." Merlin continued, eying the less-than-sober prince with a raised eyebrow – Gwaine couldn't help but notice the similarities to Gaius's famous 'eyebrow-of-disapproval'. Arthur, who'd been storytelling and joking with the best of them, seemed barely able to keep his head up. Gwaine felt a bit more sober, noticing the exhausted look on the prince's face.

"I'm _fine_, Merlin, quit bothering me." Arthur insisted, covering a yawn with his hand. Merlin's eyebrow climbed higher – causing Gwaine to burst into a fit of giggles (Merlin pointedly ignored him). "Alright, so maybe I'm a bit tired, so what?" Arthur finally conceded.

"Unlike the knights, _you_ have several _important_ meetings with _important_ people about _important_ things. Isn't that what you told me earlier?" Merlin shot back dryly. Arthur opened his mouth to retort, only to yawn again. The knights joined Merlin in chuckling at Arthur's stubbornness. "There'll be more feasts and celebrations in the future, you dollop-head, so just go to bed already!" There was a moment of silence – that moment where everyone (Gwaine included) wondered if Merlin had crossed the line and was about to get put in his place by Arthur – before Arthur sighed and got to his feet.

"I suppose you're right Merlin, how unusual for you." Arthur commented, before addressing the hall, informing the knights that they were welcome to continue celebrating, but he was heading to bed. Merlin smiled, his eyes dancing with laughter, before getting to his feet to trail after Arthur.

"You know, I'm right a lot of the time, but people are always surprised." Merlin's comment was heard as the pair departed the hall, causing a few chuckles to erupt from the group. Gwaine quickly finished off his mug – the one he didn't even notice receiving, but hey, why complain – and got to his feet.

"I might be off too." He stretched, waving a lazy hand at his friends.

"That's not like you Gwaine." Elyan commented, looking to Lancelot and Leon to back him up.

"You're usually the last to leave." Lancelot added with a growing smile.

"And it's usually because Merlin is dragging you from the hall." Leon finished, shaking his head at the memory. Gwaine grinned – what a good night that had been – and shrugged.

"There's something I gotta ask Merlin about, so I'll see you at training tomorrow." Gwaine hurried from the hall, wanting to catch up to Merlin before he got to bed – waking Gaius up at the early hours of the morning because he wanted to talk to Merlin was definitely on his 'never again' list – ignoring the calls of protest from his drinking buddies. Luckily, Merlin was just exiting Arthur's chambers as Gwaine rounded the corner.

"Gwaine? What are you doing here?" Merlin questioned, looking honestly confused. Again, Gwaine wondered how Merlin had kept his magic a secret so long, when he wore his emotions on his sleeve like he did.

"We need to talk, Merlin." The servant immediately seemed wary, as many seemed to when Gwaine used his 'very serious' voice. "Come on, we can talk in my chambers." Gwaine didn't wait for Merlin to protest, instead marching towards the knights' quarters. The walk was unnaturally quiet, and Gwaine felt somewhat guilty – his words and tone had worried, perhaps frightened, his friend – and found that he missed Merlin's inane chatter. It wasn't long before Merlin stood awkwardly in front of Gwaine's fireplace, waiting for his newly knighted friend to speak. Gwaine, however, found himself at a loss for words. A thousand times, he had imagined himself confronting his friend – that could have been a minor exaggeration – but now that the moment was actually here, he couldn't find the words to speak. "Merlin… I've told you that you're probably the best friend I've ever had, right?"

"I think you were drunk at the time, but yes." Merlin responded easily, a smile flitting across his face. Gwaine chuckled at that, feeling a little bit of the tension fading from the room.

"And you also know that I've never spoken truer words then those I've said drunk." Gwaine continued, causing Merlin to break out in a grin as he agreed. "So I'm going to get to the point…" He paused for a moment, his eyes locking on to Merlin's. "Do you think I'm unobservant, Merlin?"

"Not particularly?" Merlin responded, seemingly confused by the question.

"Good. Then it shouldn't surprise you that I know." Gwaine stated. Merlin's face remained blank, and Gwaine sighed. "I _know_, Merlin. About…you know."

"Not really…" Merlin shook his head slowly, that damned eyebrow going up slowly – definitely Gaius's ward, Gwaine decided.

"Alright, I'm just going to say it. Nice and clearly. Even you can't misunderstand it." Gwaine stated resolutely. "Merlin, I know about the magic." The silence that followed was deafening. Merlin stared at him for a moment before becoming flustered and panicked – just like Gwaine had predicted. Gwaine let him ramble on for a few moments about how he was wrong and how Merlin had no magic before he interrupted. "So it's not you that Arthur should thank for saving him from the wyverns? Or who we both should thank for distracting Jarl and his men when we were forced to fight each other? Or for numerous other times that I can't even think of, not to mention don't know about?" Merlin fell silent, a stunned expression on his face.

"Thank…me?" He mumbled.

"Yes Merlin, my friend." Gwaine replied reassuringly, walking over to place a hand on Merlin's shoulder. "Thank you." Merlin was silent again, before a smile slowly started to form on his face. "I owe you, probably more than I know." Merlin seemed slightly embarrassed by that, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"How did you figure it out?" Merlin asked the one question that was burning in his mind. Gwaine grinned.

"Come on Merlin, as I said, I'm not unobservant. Though, really, I cannot understand how his royal pratness hasn't figured it out yet!" Gwaine chuckled, eliciting a grin from Merlin.

"You and me both," Merlin replied easily as he began to relax. "You won't tell him, though? Or Sir Leon and the others? It's not that I don't trust them…I just don't think they're ready to know yet…"

"I understand. Don't fret, I won't tell the others…" Gwaine responded. Merlin began to thank him when Gwaine interrupted again – the wicked grin on his face causing Merlin to gulp nervously. "On one condition. Tell me Merlin, know any spells to get rid of coin hungry bar owners?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN2: **Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading, I really appreciate it. Reviews are very much appreciated too!

- theSarcasticWench


End file.
